Two Ways with Kale and Cheese

Friday 28 December 2012


A couple of days before Christmas we made a trip to the supermarket.  We knew it was going to be a fairly horrible experience and we were not wrong.  There’s something about Christmas, the big meal and the fact that pretty much everything shuts for a day that makes us go a little crazy.  People were barging around the supermarket with heavily loaded trolleys.  Politeness was left at the entrance to the car park.  Every man for himself was the mentality.  Under these circumstances we all seem to stress buy things we don’t really need, just in case, heaven forbid we should run out and not be able to buy that vital item.  This year, I stress bought kale.  I’m not even going to attempt to qualify that.  So this week, while I’m enjoying a few days off work I’ve been making lots of kale creations.  I was going to make this two separate posts but then I thought, how much kale can people really take?  Not everyone is as obsessed as me.  Better to do it in one hit.


I use hard goat cheese here, it’s my favourite and tends to be my go to cheese these days.  The flavour is quite strong but you can substitute any hard cheese you like.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Kale and Goat Cheese inspired by River Cottage Veg Every Day! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Serves 2

2 large baking potatoes

Handful of kale, finely chopped and briefly sautéd to wilt.

Knob of butter

Goat cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F.  Wash and dry the potatoes.  Bake in the oven for about an hour or until they are crisp and yield easily when tested with a fork.  Once cooked allow to cool slightly for handling.  Cut your potatoes in half and scoop the flesh in to a bowl.  Add the butter, kale and cheese and mash together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Return the flesh mixture to the potato skins and top with more grated cheese.  Place the potatoes on a baking tray and return to the oven for a further ten to fifteen minutes until the cheese is melted and turning golden and the potatoes are heated through. 

Kale and Goat Cheese Frittata
Serves 2, using 9 inch skillet.
Handful of kale finely chopped
3-4 large eggs
Fresh Thyme or other herb such as basil or parsley
Olive oil
Goat cheese, grated (as much as you like).
Heat the oil in the skillet over a low heat and add the kale.  Sauté until wilted, about two to three minutes. Meanwhile whisk the eggs with the herbs and season to your liking.  Once the kale is wilted add the egg mixture and make sure it evenly coats the pan.  Sprinkle some of the cheese across the top.  Cook on a low heat until the egg has begun to set.  This should take about ten minutes.  When almost done sprinkle the rest of the cheese generously across the top of the frittata then finish the cooking off under the grill to brown the top.  Serve with a green salad.  *I think you could take this up a level by sautéing some finely chopped onion and garlic before adding the kale to the pan.  The beauty of a frittata is you can throw in what you like and make it your own.
 

Happy Christmas!

Monday 24 December 2012

It’s never too late to make mince pies.  Recipe here.  Happy Christmas x

Christmas Granola

Sunday 23 December 2012


Breakfast gets a bit ignored at Christmas.  It’s all about the turkey, the roasted parsnips, the brussels sprouts and the Christmas pudding.  Who needs breakfast when there are boxes of Quality Street and mince pies to devour?  I am here to plead the case for eating a good breakfast on Christmas day.  To start with, it’s usually a day when lunch turns up late, I mean really late.  You need fuel to get through the wait. Mince pies are not the right type of fuel.  Perhaps more importantly, opening presents requires muscular strength.  It’s no good if you are hopped up on sugar, you will fade too fast.  Breakfast will protect you against tummy rumblings during the Vicar’s sermon.  It will soak up the port you are working your way through while you cook.  It will make you a more pleasant and patient human being.  Breakfast is your friend.

I’ve made you some granola.  I added spices to it, just to make it extra special and Christmassy.  It has oats for soluble fibre and slow release energy, nuts for protein, cranberries for vitamin C, coconut for a host of vitamins and minerals.  It will see you through.  You can thank me later.  Enjoy with natural yoghurt, milk or just to snack on during the day. 
 
150g (5oz) gluten free oats
25g (1oz) coconut flakes
50g (2oz) pecans
50g (2oz) whole almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder
Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp unrefined brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp coconut oil, melted
Handful dried cranberries
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5, 190°C, 375°F. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.  In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients apart from the cranberries. Add the oil, syrup and sugar last. Mix well and spread evenly across a baking tray. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven removing every ten minutes to toss granola ensuring all sides are evenly toasted. Bake until golden brown (about 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and add the cranberries. Let it sit on the hot tray until cool then transfer to an air tight container.  Keeps for about two weeks.
 

Kale and Red Cabbage Pesto

Saturday 15 December 2012

I hate to put this out there but we don’t really like garlic in our pesto.  I know it’s all wrong but I always find it overwhelming and so does my husband.  Perhaps we’re vampires...?  I’ve been making pesto with kale for a long while (recipe with garlic here) but in this particular version I had some red cabbage to use up and thought I’d try chucking that in to the mix.  I find making this with hard goat cheese packs a big enough flavour punch to make up for the lack of garlic.  This is a hearty, chunky pesto that mixes perfectly in to hot pasta.  Feel free to mix in whatever vegetables or meat you like.  I was having an avocado day when I made this.
 
Serves 2
I tend just to throw this together without weighing anything out so take this as an approximation.
1 bunch of kale (about 2-3 leaves), finely chopped.  I used cavolo nero
½ cup sliced red cabbage
1oz toasted almonds chopped
1oz hard goats cheese or parmesan, grated
Zest ½ lemon (optional)
Approx 50ml or 2 – 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Blanch the kale and cabbage in a pan of boiling water (about 2-3 minutes).  Drain and run under the cold tap to cool.  Use a kitchen towel or a clean tea towel to squeeze out any excess water.  Place the kale, cabbage, almonds lemon zest and cheese in a food processor and blend until they come together in a kind of chunky coarse paste.  Add the olive oil in a stream with the machine running until a smoother consistency is achieved.  Mix with hot pasta.
 


Carrot and Ginger Soup

Saturday 8 December 2012


Thanks to my daily commute in to London I am bombarded by cold germs through winter.  Sometimes it feels like every person on the train is coughing or sneezing.  This week it was me.  The healthy ones give the sickly ones a subtle look of derision.  Sizing each other up, should I sit next to you?  Are you going to cover your mouth when you cough?  Quite often, on packed trains there isn’t the luxury of choice.  You sit where you can or you stand.  Every time I have a cold, like the one I’m suffering with at the moment, I bust out this soup recipe.  It’s quick and easy to make when you can’t face much cooking.  Carrots are packed full of vitamin C and ginger is superb at easing congestion and mucus as well as being good for your digestive system.  This soup gives you a warm glow from the inside out, much like the ready brek kid. I’ve been making this soup for so many years I don’t know where the recipe came from.  I carry it around in my head.

Serves 1 (easily doubled, tripled etc.)
Olive oil for cooking
200g carrots, peeled, and chopped in to discs
1 shallot
250ml stock of your choice (I used gluten free chicken stock)
½ tablespoon fresh ginger peeled and finally chopped or grated.
In a saucepan sauté the shallot in olive oil for about 5 minutes until translucent.  Add the carrots and ginger and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.  Once the ginger is becoming fragrant add the stock.  Place a lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes then remove the lid and simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the carrots are soft.  Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly.  Once cool enough pour the soup in to a blender and blend until smooth.  Return the soup to the pan and reheat until piping hot.  Serve in your favourite bowl with toasted gluten free bread.
 

Gluten Free Banana Millet Muffins

Monday 3 December 2012


These muffins proved to be a godsend last weekend as we faced a six hour drive to visit family.  On long road trips where I’m not driving I tend to do the following things.  1) Talk so much that my husband checks I’m ok if I’ve fallen quiet for more than five minutes.  2) Fall asleep, usually with my head back and mouth open catching flies.  3) Complain that I’ve hurt my neck because I’d fallen asleep with my head back at some weird angle.  4) Thinking about food and when I can next eat something we’ve packed for the journey.  In this case, these muffins were foremost on my mind.  They made a great breakfast when we faced the return drive on a dark Sunday morning.  More importantly they did a good job of keeping me quiet for a few minutes on the road.  I adapted these from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day, one of my all time favourite cookbooks.  I had a batch of over ripe bananas to use up and decided to turn her millet muffins in to a banana version.  These muffins contain some wonderful healthful things.  I made them with brown rice flour, they are sweetened with honey, contain natural yoghurt, a bit of butter, a kick of lemon zest and crunch from the millet.  They are light and airy.  The bananas add a little extra moisture which in gluten free baking is always helpful.  They are the answer to road trip boredom.
 

Recipe adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

Makes 12 Muffins

225g (8oz) Gluten Free flour (I used brown rice flour)

60g (2oz) raw millet

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

225ml plain yoghurt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

100ml unsalted butter slightly melted

100ml honey

Grated zest of one lemon

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat the oven Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Butter a 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.  In a large bowl mix together the flour, millet, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.  In a small bowl or jug mix together the eggs, yoghurt, butter, honey and lemon zest until smooth.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry until the flour is just incorporated.  Gently stir in the bananas.  Spoon the batter in to the muffin pan until all of the mixture is used up.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and beginning to crack on top.  Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn the muffins out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Roasted Vegetable Rice

Monday 26 November 2012

I have a tendency to get addicted to things.  I gorge for however long and then suddenly that’s it, we’re through.  I’m not talking people of course but I am talking music (currently irritating my poor husband by listening to this album on repeat), television programmes (Recently it was The Walking Dead, now it’s The Killing), films, authors, favourite clothes (I won’t bore you).  Food is no exception.  I’ve been making a variation of rice salads quite a bit this year, using whatever vegetables are in season.  We have this for dinner at least once a week.  As time has gone by I have become more adept at cutting corners and the number of pans I use.  It’s a healthy, colourful dish with enough variety to keep things interesting.  You don’t have to keep it vegetarian, you can add whatever combination of meat and vegetables, nuts etc. you like.
 
Serves 2
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Zest ½ lemon
Juice ½ lemon
75g brown rice (here I used a mixture of wild rice and red camargue rice)
1 parsnip peeled and chopped
1 carrot peeled and chopped
½ cup of celeriac peeled and chopped
½ cup red cabbage chopped
½ cup kale chopped
Handful of unsweetened coconut flakes (I’ve also used flaked almonds)
Handful of pumpkin seeds (optional)
Dried cherries (or cranberries work well)
Hard goat cheese (or feta would be fine)
2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6, 200°C, 400°F
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the rice according to pack instructions.  Mine took 35 minutes.  Once cooked drain and rinse.
While the rice is cooking combine the olive oil, parsnip, carrot and celeriac in a large baking tray.  Roast for 20 – 30 minutes checking to turn the veg half way through until beginning to brown.  Add the cabbage, coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds and return to the oven for a further ten minutes.  Finally add the kale and cherries and return to the oven for five minutes more until the kale has wilted and the cherries are plump.
When everything is ready add the cooked rice to the baking tray and mix with the vegetables, then mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest and a drizzle more of olive oil if you like.  Serve on plates topped with crumbled goats cheese and the boiled eggs.  I quite often throw a chopped avocado in at this point too.
 

Friday

Friday 23 November 2012

I for one am very glad it’s Friday.   Kick back, enjoy the weekend, eat some pancakes.  Gluten free pancake recipe here.  That pear sauce I was crazy about a few weeks ago...we’re still going strong.  Try it on top of these fluffy, light pancakes, you won’t regret it.  Happy weekend x
Pear Sauce adapted from Elephantine
2 cups of pears chopped
½ cup of water
Pinch of cinnamon
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer with a lid on for 25 to 30 minutes until the pears are broken down.  Allow to cool slightly then blitz in a food processor or blender.  Add honey or sugar to taste if you like.  Store in a jar and keep refrigerated for a few days.  (It won’t hang around for long).
 


Gluten Free Italian Apple Cake

Sunday 18 November 2012


I made this cake one Saturday morning waiting for a friend to arrive for the weekend.  We’d devoured the whole thing by the time she left on Sunday afternoon.  It made perfect use of the seasons apples which take centre stage giving the cake a lovely moist texture.  I dialled back the sugar a bit from the original recipe and was pleased I did as the apples make it plenty sweet enough.  The cake works warm from the oven or cold after a spell in the fridge, either way it won’t hang around for long.  You can make the cake with almonds or flour or a mixture of the two as I did below.  We don’t seem to have almond flour in the UK.  It’s texture is finer than our ground almonds so that’s why I decided to make the cake with a combination. 



Recipe slightly adapted from Healthy Green Kitchen

3 eggs

100g unrefined brown sugar (I used demerara)

100g ground almonds

80g Gluten free flour

120ml milk (I used rice milk)

40ml butter melted (I used organic goat butter)

2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3 apples, peeled and cut in to wedges.  (I used royal gala apples)

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C, 350°F

Grease or line with parchment an 8 inch spring form cake pan.  (mine was slightly bigger hence the thinner cake).

In a bowl combine the eggs and sugar.  Beat well until pale yellow in colour.  Use an electric mixer for this if you are lucky enough to have one.  Next slowly add the flour, milk and butter and continue to combine until well blended.  Add the baking powder and vanilla and continue to beat everything together until really well combined.

Pour the batter in to the prepared cake tin.  Arrange the apple slices in a circle starting in the middle and working outwards.  Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.  The cake should be golden brown.

Allow the cake to cool for ten minutes before removing it from the pan.  I managed to lose a bit of my edge at this point.  Dust with powdered sugar if you like and serve with ice cream or my favourite, natural yoghurt.  I stored the cake in the fridge to keep it moist.

 
 

Autumn This and That

Thursday 15 November 2012


I spotted Christmas cards in Marks and Spencer back in September, now some shops are playing Christmas music.  I’m not down on Christmas, I’d just like a little more autumn first before I contemplate winter full on.  Is that too much to ask?  A few things I’ve liked this autumn...

Carpet of leaves.
Riot of colour, these leaves have sadly fallen to the ground now.
 
Porridge, I never tire of porridge or indeed pictures of it.  The perfect breakfast for cold days.
 
Roasting butternut squash...
 
Then making soup. I used this recipe
 
Banana bread is comfort food.  Sadly I burnt this gluten free olive oil banana bread with chocolate chunks.  It still tasted pretty good and now I have the perfect excuse to try again.  Watch this space...
 
Lunch when I'm too lazy to make an effort...almond butter slathered on gluten free toast with a hot mug of tea on a grey day.  Also I'm a little fond of my new striped napkin.  You'll be seeing it a lot.
 
Purposeful walking through autumn leaves in Jardin du Luxembourg with my favourite person in the world.
 
Kale season makes me happy.  I don’t mind if you find that a little odd.
 
You can use your kale in a green smoothie to start your day off right.
 
Building on my pear sauce obsession I ventured in to making apple sauce too.  Autumn has the best fruit.  Breakfast dessert (because breakfast deserves a second course)... plain yoghurt, apple sauce and quinoa pops. Divine. 
 
Happy Autumn x
 
 

Roasted Roots Gluten Free Pasta

Saturday 10 November 2012

Sometimes I just want a quick bowl of pasta.  Nothing fancy, just some good old fashioned comfort food.  This has become a favourite winter lunch lately.  Roasted root veg, toasted flaked almonds, lots of cheese.  You can choose whatever vegetables you like.  Here I used parsnip, beetroot, carrots and celeriac.  If you want a little more flavour punch I think roasted onion or garlic would be a great addition, throw in some herbs.  Mix it up, make it your own.
 
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F
Choose your vegetables, chop in to bite size pieces and roast in olive oil in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes.  Add the almonds to the roasting tray for the last ten minutes and cook until everything is golden brown.  Meanwhile cook your gluten free pasta according to the pack instructions.  Once the pasta is ready, drain retaining a little of the cooking water.  Return the pasta to the pan and stir in the roasted vegetables.  Add a little water if you like to loosen the mixture up a bit.  Serve in bowls topped with lots of cheese.  I used hard goat cheese.  In case you hadn’t guessed already, I’m a bit of a fan.
 
 

So Easy It Shouldn’t Be Allowed...Pear Sauce

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Pear sauce, oh my word.  I hate to be annoyingly gushy but I’m going to be so please indulge me for a moment.  This pear sauce is amazing, sweet, slightly tart with warmth from the cinnamon, simple to make and delicious on just about everything...ok maybe not everything but you get the idea.  Try it on pancakes, natural yoghurt, ice cream, porridge, roast chicken...?  I’m thinking yes, absolutely.  Just grab a spoon and devour the jar.  I really don’t know why it has taken me so long to make this.  Pears are my favourite fruit at this time of year, making them mushy and sweet couldn’t really go wrong as far as I’m concerned.
 
I converted this simple recipe for apple sauce from the beautiful blog Elephantine using pears instead.  I also halved the recipe which was incredibly stupid of me as the jar was gone within a day and I had to make more.  I didn’t add any sugar or honey, it didn’t need it but that’s for you to decide.  I left the skins on and once cooked, I did put the cooled pears in my food processor to make a smoother consistency.  A blender would also work or you could mash with a fork for a more rustic effect.  Do yourself a favour and make some, now. 
 
Recipe here